Playground 51 - The Wildest Magic School on Earth

INT. ABSOLUTION ACADEMY – DIAZ'S OFFICE - DAY

RAHBEEM ROTH, now 37 and thinner, sits in front of the principal's desk in stunned silence.

In response, Professor Diaz smiles and relaxes into his plush office chair, somehow very satisfied by the disturbed look on Rahbeem's face.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

–And THAT'S why it took me so long to call you back after your job interview.

Rahbeem tilts his head to the side as he tries to work this equation out in his mind.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

The school had to be shut down for an extra year for repairs and a few adjustments.

RAHBEEM

So...

His eyes shift to the left, contemplating, then shift forward to give Diaz another funny look.

RAHBEEM

–How is it that you are alive now?

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Simple. I'm Immortal, Professor Roth.

RAHBEEM

Immortal?

RAHBEEM

(Amazed)

You mean you can't die...EVER?

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Well, certain things in this world can kill me.

He shrugs and smiles.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Fire doesn't happen to be one of them.

RAHBEEM

Ok...but, what are you going to do if those protestors come back and try to burn down the school AGAIN?

PROFESSOR DIAZ

I'm not too worried. To appease our Christian friends, I added the Demon Hunter's School.

Diaz points to a poster on the wall behind him advertising it.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

The Golden Redemption School for Spiritual Warfare. That's part of the reason why it took so long for us to rebuild.

Rahbeem admires the poster, but still looks a bit...confused.

RAHBEEM

Wow...a...Demon Hunters school?

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Yes, it was a last-minute decision, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of "diversifying–"

He makes air quotes.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

–the supernatural curriculum. So...

He stands up and walks over to the other side of his office, where there are many other posters.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

I then added the "Tora Myst School for Superhuman Sciences."

He taps a poster showing people dressed as superheroes in tight spandex and capes.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

These are for superpowers that involve science more so than witchcraft. Radioactive insect bites, chemical spills, getting hit by space debris, genetic anomalies.

He exhales and admires the poster with a sense of pride.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

You can say the Tora Myst School is more for mutants than magicians.

RAHBEEM

(Nods impressed)

I can dig it!

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Then I created the "Shinewell School for Paranormal Technology".

He taps yet another poster showing a cartoon of children performing experiments in a lab, with what looks like smiling ghosts assisting them.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Affectionately referred to on campus as the "Ghostbusters." They are the science component of the Demon Hunters' school.

Diaz saunters back over to his desk.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

You see, on one side, we had the religious groups burning us with fire, and on the other, we had the science community flaming us online. So, to make everyone happy, we have two kinds of "spirit schools," and each spirit school has a "science school" doppelganger.

Diaz gets comfortable in his seat.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

And it's good this way. We have balance. Humans like you need to learn all facets of the supernatural world quickly. And since humans are familiar with science, let's use that as a tool to explain the supernatural to them.

RAHBEEM

No more burning down the school? Everybody's happy now?

PROFESSOR DIAZ

More or less...

PROFESSOR DIAZ

(a beat)

But just in case there's any more insurrection, we have plenty of security in place...

RAHBEEM

...In-sur-rection?

Professor Diaz purposely ignores the alarmed look on Rahbeem's face.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

Remember those gigantic machines you saw today when entering the main building? The Tommy Walkers? Yes, they are equipped with firefighting and bomb-disarming capabilities.

Rahbeem's face scrunches in slow, comical horror as he remembers "The Tommy Walkers"...

RAHBEEM

Yes...I remember...

INT. ABSOLUTION ACADEMY FRONT CAMPUS – FLASHBACK

A gigantic frog-shaped death machine is stomping around the front of the school as screaming staff and teenagers try to escape it. The Monster Machine demands to see "I.D." and starts shooting lasers at random when it is not fed the "I.D."

A police car rolls up, and some cops hop out and start shooting at Tommy Walker, but he shoots a laser at a cop car, causing it to explode as the police duck for cover.

PROFESSOR DIAZ

We just gotta work out a few kinks.

He smiles as if those demented androids were not a bigger threat to the school than any angry protestors.

The disjointed look doesn't leave Rahbeem's face. Diaz suspected this look would be a permanent fixture on Rahbeem, so long as he worked in this magic school.

This idea delighted Diaz. It's like Rahbeem would be artwork, walking around the school, decorating each part of it with that delightful look of pure amazement...

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